OAKLAND, Calif. - Mark Kliem, owner of Lavender Lounge Studios, has been named official photographer for the 2009 GAYVN Awards show taking place at San Francisco's Castro Theatre March 28.
"It's a big thrill to be acknowledged for my contributions to the industry," Kliem said. "When I started shooting events like the GAYVN Awards, it was just to draw attention to LavenderLounge.com. My paparazzi photos are now the biggest selling point of my website.
"To make sure [the GAYVN photography is] done right, I've enlisted two other photographers to cover every inch of the theater, the parties, and of course, every inch of the boys."
Local photographers Rich Stadtmiller and Bill Weaver will assist Kliem at the awards show.
"Both are tireless workers covering a multitude of gay events and fundraisers in the leather community, bear community, Imperial Court, Mama's Family, Bare Chest Calendar contests, the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence and the various street fairs," Kliem said.
Lavender Lounge is a media sponsor of the awards show, which Kliem has helped judge since 2001. Members of the website have access to more than 40,000 photos, most of which were shot at gay and adult-industry events like Folsom Street Fair, Pride events and Pink Saturday. The collection includes GAYVN Awards photos dating back to 2003.
A video slideshow of Kliem's photographs will be part of a museum exhibit entitled "Under A Full Moon: 30 Years of The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence" at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco from April 2 through June 25. Kliem said his photos of the Sisters will be displayed on a loop 24 hours a day in the front exhibit window of the museum.
"When I started working on this project, it seemed like just another Sisters event, but then it struck me - my pictures are going to be in a museum!" he said.
